Aircraft parts are normally subject to fatigue damage in the course of their working life.
Parts subject to severe fatigue damage are designed using a load spectrum corresponding to given flight manoeuvres performed for given lengths of time.
In other words, the most significant parts are fatigue-designed on the basis of the load spectrum, and are issued with a given fatigue life.
A need is felt within the industry to determine the actual in-service fatigue of aircraft component parts, so as to safely determine the residual working life with respect to the fatigue life for which they were designed.
One of the main parameters for calculating the actual fatigue of aircraft component parts is the takeoff weight of the aircraft.
From the takeoff weight, it is possible to work out the weight in various flight conditions, on which the attitudes affecting component part fatigue damage depend.
The takeoff weight of the aircraft is normally calculated by adding the weight of the payload, fuel and crew to the no-load weight of the aircraft.
A need is felt within the industry for a more accurate way of calculating the takeoff weight of an aircraft, so as to more accurately determine the actual fatigue of aircraft component parts.